What about lunch?

honeylissabee
honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I'm starting my second week at my new job, and I just got my schedule, and I'm NOT happy.

I've been doing intermittent fasting, and I've really enjoyed it. I've been eating between 12pm and 10pm, though most days, I've been getting my lunch breaks late, so I've been eating somewhere between 1 and 2pm instead (which makes it a 16 hour fast instead of a 14 hour one).

This week, I start work sometime between 11 and 2pm. On the 2pm and 12:30 day, I can eat lunch before starting work. However, 4 days this week, I start at 11 (3 days) and 12pm (1 day). If I don't get my breaks on time, that means I'll be eating lunch sometime between 2 and 4pm- hopefully closer to the 1-2pm range.

This is all fine and dandy if not for one little problem.

There has been a little bit of a confusion over when 30 minute lunch breaks are given. There are a couple days when I only work 5 hours, and I only get a 15 minute break to go to the bathroom, sit down, and eat. This means that I don't really have time to eat lunch. I really don't want to shovel down a cold lunch in under 5 minutes, but 10am is too early to eat lunch.

Any suggestions?

Replies

  • hf91
    hf91 Posts: 23
    I'm not sure what you do, but is it possible to snack before your lunch break? Maybe having a fairly hefty snack like a bag of cut up veggies or a fruit salad can help curb your hunger until your lunch break. Or been a protein drink may help too if you can't eat but can drink.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    I'd also snack just before starting work so that can hold you over until you actually get your break.
  • honeylissabee
    honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
    I'm not allowed to eat or drink at work, so that's not an option.

    Today, I worked from 2 to 7 with no break. Tomorrow, I'm working from 11 to 4 and I may or may not get a 15 minute break depending on how things work out. If I eat before work, it means I'll be eating at 10 and I might not get to eat anything until nearly 5.

    And on top of that, I haven't been eating before 12 lately, and I find I'm not overly hungry when I do that. Snacking actually makes me hungrier.
  • LTKeegan
    LTKeegan Posts: 354 Member
    Can you change when you fast?
  • honeylissabee
    honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
    Change to what? Fasting from 6pm to 4am? I guess I can do that. Sleeping isn't important
  • debbiesats
    debbiesats Posts: 65 Member
    Could you have soup on your 15 minute break?
    Snack or mini meal before you start work then heat up some soup if you have access to a microwave. Even a cuppa soup if there's a kettle.
    I quite often have soup with a box of salad from home for a quick office lunch
  • lamps1303
    lamps1303 Posts: 432 Member
    I'm not sure what facilities you have at work but what about some greek yogurt with granola and fruit? You'll be getting a good hit of protein from the yoghurt and slow releasing carbs from the granola to keep you going? Or maybe a sandwich with a load of chicken/ham/beef? Or just a small amount of food, such as carrot sticks and hummus then have a protein shake with some peanut butter and banana or something which will provide you some nutrients but doesn't take long to eat! It's more difficult if you don't know when you're getting a break. May be worth changing the hours of your eating period on days that don't fit your current plan, e.g. eat 11am to 9pm instead of 12pm to 10pm?
  • tonyrocks922
    tonyrocks922 Posts: 172 Member
    Get a job where the person in charge of scheduling has their **** together so you know when your breaks will be.
  • babeb4baby
    babeb4baby Posts: 9
    I don't think it's too early! I had grilled chicken with spinach and roasted zuchinni and squash for breakfast this past Saturday lol. It just sounded good and I wanted it so that's what I had!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    why is 10am too early...I often eat then...it's called brunch.
  • honeylissabee
    honeylissabee Posts: 217 Member
    If I decide to stop IF (which I may do just based on a few issues I am having such as instability in my schedule and it making it too easy for me to get the bulk of my food from non-fruit and vegetable sources), I will likely eat breakfast at around 8-9am on average. Lunch at 10 is not going to work, and neither is having a snack since I do not snack much between meals.

    On most of my 15 minute breaks, I usually have a cup of whole milk and something solid. Sometimes, it's a piece of fruit. Other days, I've had a Larabar (I am going to look into making my own sometime to save money). It's an ok snack, but it doesn't keep me full as he long as a real meal will and sometimes, eating can actually trigger more hunger if I only have a little snack.
  • LTKeegan
    LTKeegan Posts: 354 Member
    Change to what? Fasting from 6pm to 4am? I guess I can do that. Sleeping isn't important

    Sorry! I'm not totally sure how it all works with IF.


    If you decide to stop, I've got a bit of experience with "breakfast loading" to make it through a full day of mountain climbing with just a cliff bar. If you need help with this, send me a message and I can share what has worked for me.


    If you decide to keep up IF, good luck!!

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